Quiet Time

It’s quiet time at the farm. The gardens are put to bed and fallen leaves are blanketing the landscape. The last hardy vegetables are about to leave the farm stand as we’ve had a couple of nights of hard frost and it’s time for tucking into the root cellar.

The pigs, Chaco and Taco, are happily fattening up on scraps from a local diner. (Belgian waffles and French fries anyone?) The sheep are regrowing their wooly coats, and the roosters are pecking away at the compost pile with added vigor. We lost all the hens during summer due to bear raids. Happily, a new chick named Peep has moved in thanks to a 7th grade science class that experimented with hatching eggs. Peep refused to appear for the photo shoot, but rest assured that the cute little feather ball is currently safe in a chick coop. Also, farm dog Pepper is on the job keeping watch from a sunny perch. (If you can’t get enough of chickens, click here to go to a blast-from-the-past post.)

A bear was up at our place in early summer. Probably the chicken eater, but it looks kinda innocent, don’t you think? Now we’re approaching November, the trees are getting bare and the frog pond is full of leaves. The roses have been happy to be free of Japanese beetles, but frost will probably take their blossoms this week. That’s Rosie on the path that leads down to the farm. Lots of crunching as we walk these days. We may be a little sad to see fall giving way to winter, but there’s a magic to the season as bare trees let the dwindling light in, and mountain views reappear. Todd, Rosie and I are on borrowed time as we prepare to head west for the winter. (If you missed the “Little House Big Desert” post, click here to see it.) We’ll be back in time for daffodils and budding trees in the spring. Sleep well little house.